Conclusions Against Expected Outcome

We have one expected outcome: Canadians receive an impartial and timely review of contested decisions through our redress system – Our aim is to provide clients with a fair dispute resolution process. An impartial and timely process fosters trust in the integrity of our tax and customs systems, which helps promote voluntary compliance with these systems.

On balance, our performance indicates that we mostly met our expected outcome.

We significantly improved the timeliness of case processing in 2002-2003 by implementing a number of process improvements recommended in a comprehensive study we undertook in 2001-2002. We now meet many of the turnaround time targets in our five program areas. However, despite increasing the number of cases we resolved during the year to over 78,000 from the 72,000 level of 2001-2002, our inventory continued to grow, as we took in over 84,000 disputes during the year. This is likely due in part to increased audit activity and pay equity disputes in 2002-2003.

To enhance our ability to keep clients informed about their disputes, the new service standard we introduced in 2001-2002 to provide clients with a meaningful status update on their disputes within 30 days of filing was enhanced from 75% across all program areas in 2001-2002 to 85% for each program area in 2002-2003. We met the enhanced standard for each program area and thereby increased our overall performance by contacting 87% of clients with a meaningful status update (up from 82% in 2001-2002).

A basic aspect of fairness is ensuring clients are informed of their rights and how to exercise them. Making sure the process is timely, accessible, and consistent also contributes to its actual and perceived fairness. Striking the right balance between the consistent and fair resolution of disputes and litigation, and doing so within a reasonable time frame, is also essential to the integrity of our redress process.

Although we strive to provide consistent, fair, and impartial reviews of disputes, we recognize that there is still further progress to be made in the area of timeliness. We are also making progress in instituting agency-wide monitoring of the fairness provisions to provide greater assurance of consistency and fairness in our decisions, by reviewing and fine-tuning the tools and guidelines we already have in place.

Clients also made increasing use of our Voluntary Disclosures Program. We resolved 5,097 cases in 2002-2003, but as we received over 5,300 requests during the year, our inventory continued to grow.

Exhibit 8: Redress Clients

The next section presents our Performance Summary against our four anticipated results for the Appeals business line. Our anticipated results deal with our strategic outcome of managing the compliance continuum. These anticipated results support our expected outcome - Canadians receive an impartial and timely review of contested decisions through our redress system.

Performance Highlights

• Met enhanced targets in providing meaningful status updates to clients
• Significantly improved turnaround time of case processing
• Some progress made in instituting CCRA-wide fairness monitoring
• Continued increase in inventories of disputes
• Still attempting to address staffing shortfalls

Key Volumetrics

• 78,209 disputes resolved
• 84,507 new disputes received
• 41,084 of 63,580 requests granted under the fairness provisions
• 5,097 voluntary disclosures processed, with related assessments estimated at $277 million
• Budget of $96.5 million
• Some 1260 full-time equivalent employees

Date modified:

2003-10-29